Twitter rolls out renewed verification request process

Twitter has started rolling out its revamped verification request process to all users. With new guidelines, the social media company wants to create more clarity and transparency about how it assigns accounts a verification label.

Twitter’s verification criteria were further refined at the end of 2020 using user feedback. From now on, an account must be authentic, recognizable and active in order to receive a verification badge from Twitter. That can be read in the new guidelines.

The authenticity of an account can be proven with a reference to a website on which the identity of the user of the account is stated. It will also be possible to prove the authenticity of the user through a photo of an official government document. Twitter will also allow authentication via an email account with a domain name linked to the Twitter account.

According to Twitter, every account that wants to receive a verification badge must also be sufficiently recognizable. Governments, companies, brands, news organizations, journalists are then eligible. But also entertainment, sports, game accounts can receive a verification badge. Activists and influencers can also request a verification badge since this year.

With each verification request, the social media company will also verify that an account’s details have been properly filled in, the account is being actively used, and it hasn’t recently violated the rules on Twitter. When a profile name is changed, the profile is found to be inactive or incomplete for a long time, or the person behind the account no longer holds the position for which he or she was verified, Twitter may choose to revoke the verification badge.

2009 started Twitter with verifying Twitter profiles with the verification symbol. The company said it did this to ensure that well-known individuals and organizations would not be impersonated. Since 2016, every user could request a verification symbol. In 2017 decided Twitter, however, has decided to temporarily suspend the general application process after a user who made racist comments about a woman who died during the then-protests in Charlottesville passed away. Twitter wanted to use this to indicate the symbol that a user’s identity had been confirmed, but then came to the conclusion that this could be misinterpreted.

The option to request a verification badge will appear in Twitterers’ account settings over the next few days and weeks.